Hope
by Mae.rh
Summary: They had transmitted the plans. It was over. ...Or was it?
1. The End

It was finished.

They had successfully transmitted the plans, giving the Alliance a fighting chance against the Empire's monster of a weapon. The same monster that was sending a blinding heat hurtling towards the beach.

When they had stepped out of that tower, Cassian leaning heavily on her, and saw the all-too-familiar effects of the Death Star steadily growing closer, Jyn knew they wouldn't make it. A brief sense of hope crossed through her mind when she saw an abandoned cargo ship on a landing pad not far away. _Maybe…_ she had thought, before taking in the reality of the situation and shaking her head. No, they would never make it to the plane in time, not with the shape they were in. Even if they did, Cassian was severely injured and was in no shape to fly them anywhere. She herself was inexperienced at piloting, by the time she had figured out how to turn the thing on it would be too late.

So instead of running, instead of fighting, instead of surviving in spite of the impossible as they had so many times before, Jyn limped toward the beach. Toward the warm haze that was not so far off now. Toward what was most certainly the end of both her and the man she had come to deeply depend on.

As they slowly crossed the sand, pulled by an invisible force, Jyn thought about their friends, hoping they had made it out of this god forsaken place. However she felt in her heart something terrible had doomed them also. She thought of her valiant parents, and how it wouldn't be so bad to die here, to join her family. Perhaps her father would be upset, knowing she gave up here on this beach. Knowing that even though he did all he could do to keep her from this fate she eventually reached it.

As they reached the shoreline, Cassian's knees gave way. They sank to the sand together, Jyn letting the firm arm she had wrapped around his torso drop to her side. The heat grew more and more unbearable as the seconds passed. Neither spoke, no words could describe the emotions racing through both of their hearts. Less than a mile away the wall of light and heat and destruction steadily grew closer.

Cassian cleared his throat, even though the words used to describe his feelings simply wouldn't form. He wanted to thank her for giving him hope when he about lost it, to reassure her even though he knew she didn't need it, to let her know why he hadn't killed her father, to explain so much… But he simply could not find the right words. Finally, he squeezed her hand and whispered softly, "Your father would be proud of you Jyn." She looked up at him with soft tears in her eyes, he drew her close. Cassian turned his back away, shielding Jyn from the full force of the pain which was soon to come. Jyn found her mother's necklace with one hand, and buried her face into Cassian. As the wall of heat and noise drew closer the two clung to each other, both thinking of what might've been.

And then there was silence, the end had come.


	2. The Beach

The silence was comforting, peaceful.

Cassian couldn't remember the last time he had experienced this kind of quietness. There was always some kind of noise, whether it be K2-SO giving some sarcastic and factual remark, the humming of a ship, or the crowd in a city. Even back on base, voices would drift their way through the door and walls into his small room as he lay in his bunk attempting to find rest, so this nothingness was new, and a relief.

Cassian held his breath, willing the peace to stay. Slowly, however, he became aware of a dull ringing which was gradually getting louder. So much for that, he thought and then let out a sigh, which caused a sharp flash of pain to ripple throughout his body. He felt his mouth curl into a familiar frown, Isn't there suppose to be no pain after death? No, peace and paradise is for the innocent and Cassian Andor was not an innocent man. Maybe this was just the beginning of his punishment for everything he had caused during life. If so he better enjoy how the short flash of pain was dulling, there was sure to be much worse soon.

Cassian blinked repeatedly, opening his eyes to find he was lying on his back, eyes towards the brilliant blue sky. The ringing had grown to the point of high pitched screaming and completely blocked out the natural sounds of his surroundings, which meant he didn't hear himself scream in pain when he attempted to sit up. He did however feel it. Clenching his jaw shut, he tried to pull himself up into a sitting position but again failed. His ribs were definitely broken, no telling how many. With great pain and effort Cassian rolled himself onto his belly, irritating the broken ribs further, before pushing himself up into a kneeling position. The sharp ringing in his ears had not dulled which was slightly concerning. Surveying his surroundings, he found that he was still on the beach of Scarif.

He gave himself a quick assessment of his injuries and found that other than his ribs and a few scratches here and there, he was perfectly healed. There was sand in every pore of his being, but no broken leg from his fall, no major burns from the wall of supernova heat. Even the blaster wounds from being shot by the troopers as him and Jyn were climbing were gone. His frown turned into a scowl, What the varp is going on here? Obviously he wasn't dead like he originally thought. He was very much alive, at least he felt so, which meant Jyn and the others may be as well. He scanned the beach for any and all signs of life, and found in the distance a small body curled on the ground. As he watched, the person raised their right arm and then let it fall to the sand again. Well they appeared to be somewhat alive, might as well investigate.

With a small groan and painful protests from his torso, Cassian stood up and started walking which turned into more of a shuffle. The sand was hot, as if it had been baking right next to the sun for too long. He noticed the trees had been all but demolished, every building decimate. The remains of multiple AT-ST units were still smoking, as were the wings of a cargo ship. Even if everyone has survived, he thought, there's no way in hell we are getting off this planet.

As he approached the fallen individual, he recognized the slight form even though she had covered her face with her hands. "Jyn!" He cried, or at least he tried to. His voice came out as a scratchy, heavily accented whisper that did not reach his own ears.

However, Jyn seemed to have heard him and popped open her eyes letting her hands fall to the ground. She pushed herself up with easy, and Cassian noticed that she also had no injuries. Her leg appeared to be completely healed, the hole in her pants showing nothing but perfectly healthy skin. She did not appear to have any broken ribs either. Her necklace seemed to be.. glowing?

It wasn't until Jyn began gesturing with her hand that he realized she had been talking. Cassian motioned for her to stop by pointing to his ears and shaking his head. Jyn frowned, and after a few moments mouthed the words Can't hear me? while shaking her head and gesturing to her own ears. When Cassian nodded, the frown furthered. They stood there for a few minutes looking at each other, both of them surveying the other while trying to figure what the Force was going on.

Jyn noticed the arm Cassian kept wrapped around his torso, and how he winced every time he breathed in. Broken ribs, she guessed. He should be laying down, not causing further damage to himself. Of course Cassian Andor never did anything he was suppose to do. She noticed that the arm and leg that were broken when he fell seemed to he healed, and the blaster wound to his side was gone. The hole left behind showed nothing but bruising that confirmed her suspicions of his broken ribs. His hair was filled with clumps of sand, and he had cuts all over his face and arms. But his injuries from before the blast were gone, there were no burns. Just like herself, it was as if they never happened, as if they had never been scorched by a heat 20x that of most stars.

Jyn reached with one hand for her necklace before dropping it in surprise. The crystal had been warm, not its usual cool temperature. Picking it up again, she looked down at her palm and noticed that the small crystal was glowing. She remembered her mother's last words to her, "Trust the Force!" before securing the necklace around her and telling her to run. She remembered the stories mother would tell her of the Jedi and their kyber crystals, how usually they were used in their weapons but sometimes were used for healing purposes. Maybe…

"Cassian, here," she removed the crystal from around her own neck and motioned for him to take it. He gave her a disbelieving look. She couldn't be serious, certainly a glowing rock wasn't going to do anything other than look pretty. The Captain had seen many things in his journeys for the Rebellion but a magical glowing rock was not one of them. At least, not one that did any good.

He saw Jyn tap her foot impatiently and shake her hand again. Cassian watched as she mouthed the words "Do you trust me?" He blinked, always with that question. By now she should know..

He sighed painfully, took the necklace from her outstretched palm, and then gave the stubborn little woman a Now what? look. She rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. He almost smirked, Jyn was funny when she tried to be sassy. Cassian looped the still glowing necklace around his neck and let it fall. They waited.

Nothing happened.

Cassian gave a slight "oh well" shrug, before wincing in instant anticipation for the pain from his broken ribs. The pain did come but dully, as if they were being healed. The sharp ringing also started to fade away, and when he finally heard the soft breathing of Jyn he almost smiled. Almost.

"Well," he croaked softly, "It seems your magic rock works." He unlooped the necklace and handed it back. Now that it's purpose was seemingly over, the crystal had gone back to its cool, non glowing self.

"It seems so." Jyn replied. She looked around at the destruction that surrounded them, wondering what had become of their comrades. With a tired groan, she sat down in the heated sand. After a few moments, Cassian sat down beside her.

"What do we do now?" She asked, not really expecting a response. All means of escape had been burned up in the wave of heat. Whatever food and resources that had been here surely suffered the same fate. There was so sign of any life other than the two of them, not even wild plants.

"Now," he whispered slowly and sighed, "We find some fresh water, we find some food, and we wait for someone to find us."

Jyn frowned, "Wait for who to find us? The Empire or the Rebellion?"

The answer came filled with exhaustion, "Whoever comes first."


End file.
